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UNITED STATES 
MUSTERING REGULATIONS 



PROVIDING FOR THE MUSTER 
OF THE 



ORGANIZED MILITIA 

INTO AND OUT OF THE , 

MILITARY SERVICE OF THE 
UNITED STATES 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1914 



UNITED STATES 
MUSTERING REGULATIONS 



PROVIDING FOR THE MUSTER 
OF THE 



ORGANIZED MILITIA 

INTO AND OUT OF THE 

MILITARY SERVICE OF THE 
UNITED STATES 




WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1914 



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War Department, 
Office of the Chief of Staff, 

Washington, April 22, 191^. 

The following " United States mustering regulations for the 
militia called into the military service of the United States by 
the President " are approved and published for the information 
and guidance of all concerned. 

By order of the Secretary of War: 

W. W. WOTHEBSPOON, 

Major General, Chief of Staff. 
(3) 



311820 



UNITED STATES MUSTERING REGULATIONS 

FOR 

MILITIA CALLED INTO THE MILITARY SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES BY 
THE PRESIDENT. 



I. 

THE DETAIL OF MUSTERING OFFICERS AND GENERAL 
DIRECTIONS. 

1. The term " militia " as used throughout the regulations 
includes within its meaning both the Organized and the Re- 
serve Militia of the several States and Territories and the 
District of Columbia, as defined in the act of Congress ap- 
proved May 27, 1908 (35 Stat, 399). 

2- Whenever the President shall call forth the militia or 
any part thereof to be employed in the service of the United 
States, the War Department will detail the necessary officers 
of the Regular Army, either from the active or the retired 
list, to make the muster necessary to accept into service the 
militia called for. After officers of militia have been mus- 
tered into the service of the United States, they themselves 
will be eligible for mustering duty, but it is desirable that only 
experienced officers, preferably those of the Regular Army, 
shall be selected for such duty. 

3. When the exigencies of the case shall so require, muster- 
ing districts will be established by the War Department, each 
district to consist of a State or subdivision thereof, or a con- 
venient group of States and Territories or of parts of same, 
within which, at United States military posts, camps, State 
rendezvous, or other points previously designated by the War 
Department as places of mobilization, the militia called forth 
will be examined, organized, and mustered into the service of 
the United States. 

4. For each mustering district so constituted, or for each 
designated place of mobilization if mustering districts are 

(5) 



6 

not established, a chief mustering officer and the necessary 
assistant mustering officers, together with such officers of the 
Medical and other staff departments as may be required, will be 
detailed by the War Department. 

5. The chief mustering officer of a State or mustering dis- 
trict or of a place of mobilization will direct and supervise the 
muster into or out of the service of the United States of all 
militia that may be designated for muster in or for muster out 
at rendezvous under his control; but the muster out of the 
United States service of regiments or other organizations of 
militia will not necessarily be ordered to take place at the post, 
camp, or rendezvous where mustered in. The selection of the 
place of muster out is within the discretion of the Secretary of 
War upon due consideration of the various interests involved. 

6. Mustering officers are empowered to administer oaths in 
all matters pertaining to the muster of militia into and out 
of the United States service. 

7\ The employment, by chief mustering officers, of civilians 
as clerks and messengers is authorized only when competent 
enlisted men are not available, and the number of civilians thus 
employed, with the rate of compensation in each case, must 
have the approval of the Secretary of War. 

8. Whenever office accommodations for chief mustering officers 
of States or mustering districts or of places of mobilization 
can not be obtained In, United States or State public build- 
ings, application for the hire of such accommodations should 
be made to the Quartermaster General of the Army. 

9. Chief mustering officers of States or mustering districts 
or of places of mobilization are authorized to issue orders, 
"by order of the Secretary of War," for such journeys by 
themselves, their assistants and authorized civilian clerks, as 
are absolutely necessary to be made in the performance of the 
duties with which they are charged. In making such journeys, 
civilian clerks will be entitled to the transportation and allow- 
ances provided for civilian employees by Army Regulations. , 

10. A mustering officer may be detailed by the commanding 
officer of each tactical division or higher tactical unit, each 
separate brigade and each geographical department in which 
militia are serving. The officer so detailed at the headquar- 
ters of the highest tactical unit or geographical department 
headquarters will be designated as chief mustering officer and 
will supervise the duties of mustering officers at subordinate 



I 

headquarters, who will be designated as assistant mustering 
officers. The mustering officers for commands in the field are 
without authority, unless specially directed by the War De- 
partment, to organize, muster in, or muster out regiments or 
other bodies of militia. 

11. Assistant mustering officers will furnish any informa- 
tion upon the subject of musters that properly may be re- 
quired by officers or others within the command. Under 
direction of the chief mustering officer, they will exercise such 
supervision over the preparation of the' periodical muster rolls 
and pay rolls and company and regimental returns, reports, 
enlistments, reenlistments, and books of record of militia in the 
United States service and in the command to which they are 
attached as may be necessary to secure current uniformity and 
accuracy in preparing papers and keeping records and to in- 
sure completeness in the individual histories of officers and en- 
listed men at the termination of their service. 

12. Assistant mustering officers will, without delay, report 
the musters made by them to the chief mustering officer, for- 
warding to him one copy of each muster-in and muster-out 
roll and delivering one copy of each to the company or regi- 
mental commander concerned. The rolls thus transmitted to 
the chief mustering officer and the muster-in and muster-out 
rolls representing musters made by that official himself will 
be disposed of as prescribed in the instructions printed on the 
blank forms on which such musters are made. 

13. The Quartermaster Corps is charged with the duty of 
providing facilities for the efficient police of camps established 
for the organization, muster in, or muster out of militia under 
such sanitary regulations as may be prescribed by the proper 
authority. 

14. Whenever militia are to be mustered into the service of 
the United States The Adjutant General of the Army and heads 
of other bureaus of the War Department will forward to the 
proper mustering officers the necessary books and blanks for 
regimental and company administration. These books and 
blanks will be distributed by the mustering officers to the 
proper commanding and staff officers, with full and explicit 
explanations for their use. 

15. In mustering into or out of the United States service 
separate or independent squadrons, battalions, troops, com- 
panies, and batteries, or fractional parts thereof, or organiza- 

40930—14 2 



8 

tions or detachments of staff corps, the regulations herein pre- 
scribed for regiments or lesser organizations will be observed 
as far as practicable. 

16. Chief mustering officers and their assistants will pre- 
serve complete records of orders, correspondence, and all mat- 
ters receiving their action and relating to individuals or or- 
ganizations of militia. Upon being relieved they will submit 
detailed reports of their duties; and whenever a rendezvous is 
finally closed, or the detail of a mustering officer is discon- 
tinued, the administrative reports required and all official rec- 
ords of the mustering service at such rendezvous or headquar- 
ters will be forwarded to The Adjutant General of the Army. 

II. 

THE MUSTER IN OF MILITIA CALLED INTO THE SERV- 
ICE OF THE UNITED STATES. 

17. The commissioned and enlisted strength, in the several 
grades, of regiments or lesser organizations of militia received 
into and maintained in the service of the United States will 
be as authorized by law or by the regulations made by the War 
Department, of which authorized strength mustering officers 
and all concerned will be kept duly advised by The Adjutant 
General of the Army. No commissioned officer or recruit in 
excess of the authorized •maximum strength of such an organi- 
zation will be mustered in or recognized. 

18. An officer who is detailed to muster any force of militia 
into the service of the United States will, upon or before 
arriving at the place appointed in his instructions, communi- 
cate with the proper authority, generally the governor of the 
State to which said force pertains, for any information • nec- 
essary to enable him to accomplish the muster, and before 
beginning the muster of any designated command into service 
he must be satisfied, unless otherwise directed, that the com- 
plement of acceptable officers and men for at least its author- 
ized minimum strength is present or available. 

19. Every officer and enlisted man of the militia who shall 
duly be called forth shall be mustered for service without 
further medical examination previous to such muster, except 
for those States and Territories or the District of Columbia 
which have not adopted the standard of medical examination 
prescribed for the Regular Army. In the case of those States 
and Territories or the District of Columbia which have not 



9 

adopted the standard of medical examination prescribed for 
the Regular Army, both officers and enlisted men shall be ex- 
amined as follows before they are mustered into the United 
States service: They will be stripped of all clothing and then 
minutely examined, in the presence of the mustering officer, 
by a medical officer (from the Regular Army when prac- 
ticable) detailed for that purpose to ascertain whether they 
have the physical qualifications necessary for the military 
service, reference being had to the length and character of the 
service for which they are called out. In the case of militia 
mustered in from those States and Territories or the District 
of Columbia which have adopted the standard of medical ex- 
amination prescribed for the Regular Army, as soon as prac- 
ticable after such muster in a physical examination shall be 
made of all officers and enlisted men by a medical officer of 
the Army detailed for the purpose, who shall note all cases 
of defect and cause the same to be entered in the case of each 
individual on the report of his physical examination, stating 
in each case whether the defect so noted existed prior to the 
muster in of the soldier. 

Regimental surgeons and assistant surgeons of militia who 
have passed the prescribed physical examination will be mus- 
tered in without delay, if necessary, as provided in paragraph 
22, to assist in the physical examination of officers and men 
of their own or other organizations as may be directed by the 
mustering officer. 

Proper precautions will be taken to prevent fraudulent im- 
personations during or at any stage of such physical examina- 
tions. To this end the company, troop, battery, or detachment 
commander should be present to identify each man and wit- 
ness his examination. 

20. When there is no regular or militia medical officer avail- 
able to conduct the required physical examination (see pre- 
ceding paragraph) the mustering officer will engage the serv- 
ices of one or more civilian physicians of well-established 
character and ability at a rate of compensation not exceeding 
for each offiecr and man examined that prescribed by the 
Army Regulations governing the physical examination of re- 
cruits; the accounts for such services to be prepared upon 
blanks furnished by the Surgeon General of the Army. When 
the physicians thus employed are without military experience, 
the mustering officer will take unusual care that only suitable 
men are accepted. 



10 

21. No person will be mustered into the service of the United 
States as an officer of any organization of militia until he 
shall have presented to the proper mustering officer satisfactory 
evidence of appointment to his grade or rank from the author- 
ized appointing power of the State, Territory, or District of 
Columbia to which the organization belongs. 

22. During the organization of a regiment of militia for 
muster into the service of the United States, the adjutant, 
quartermaster, commissary, and, when absolutely necessary, 
the medical officers thereof may be mustered into service to 
aid in mustering in the regiment and for the prompt transac- 
tion of public business. The officers of a troop, battery, or 
company will not be mustered into service until its organiza- 
tion is complete, and then all the officers and enlisted men 
present for duty will be mustered in at the same time. In 
case of urgent necessity or of unusual delay in completing the 
organization of a regiment, field and staff officers of the regi- 
ment may be mustered into service upon the completion of the 
organization of companies, battalions, and regiments as 
follows : 

Colonel and chaplain, when an entire regiment has been 
mustered in. 

Lieutenant colonel, when six troops or companies or four 
batteries have been mustered in. 

Majors, battalion adjutants, battalion quartermasters and 
commissaries, battalion sergeants major, and battalion quarter- 
master sergeants, one for every four troops or companies, or 
for every three batteries mustered in. 

Other regimental commissioned and noncommissioned officers 
and the members of the band will not be mustered in until 
the organization of the regiment has been completed, except as 
to them, by the requisite musters into service. 

The muster in of general officers and authorized members of 
their staff will be made only upon the completion of the muster 
in of the organization comprising their command. 

The muster in of individuals or organizations will not be 
made on one date to date from or to take effect from any other 
date. (See par. 41.) 

23. The record of the muster and acceptance of all organiza- 
tions, detachments, and individuals of militia called and ac- 
cepted into the United States service will be made on muster-in 
rolls. Forms Nos. 3, 4, and 5 (Organized Militia) to be sup- 



11 

plied by The Adjutant General of the Army. The muster or 
acceptance of such organizations, detachments, and individuals 
into the military service of the United States marks and is 
their induction into that service, and the muster-in roll is the 
evidence thereof. 

24. I. The muster in of the militia from such States and Ter- 
ritories as have not adopted for enlistment the standard of 
medic? 1 examination prescribed for the Regular Army will be 
made in the following manner: 

(a) The standard of physical examination for the muster in 
as militia in the Federal service is that prescribed for the 
Regular Army, and only the names of those officers and en- 
listed men who have passed such examination will appear on 
the muster-in roll. In the case, therefore, of those States which 
have not adopted the standard of medical examination pre- 
scribed for the Regular Army, the column " Qualified for 
Volunteer service, yes or no," will be filled in by the examining 
surgeon : "All eligible for service in the Volunteer Army." 

(b) Before preparing the muster-in roll, an alphabetical list 
of the officers and enlisted men of the command will be pre- 
pared in duplicate on Form No. 1 (Organized Militia or Volun- 
teers) and furnished the examining surgeon by the commanding 
officer. 

(c) Upon the completion of the physical examination of the 
officers and enlisted men of the command, the examining sur- 
geon will write on the lists so furnished him, opposite the name 
of each officer and enlisted man borne thereon, the words 
" Qualified," " Disqualified," or " Not examined," as the case 
may be, certify the same to be correct over his signature, re- 
turn one copy to the commanding officer and the other copy to 
the mustering officer. 

(d) From the list so furnished him the commanding officer, 
under the supervision of the mustering officer, will cause to be 
prepared the cards (Form No. 2, Organized Militia) necessary 
for the preparation of the muster-in roll. The cards containing 
the names only of those who have successfully passed the 
physical examination will be arranged, under the supervision 
of the mustering officer, in the order in which the names borne 
thereon are to appear on the muster-in roll. After the muster- 
in rolls have been completed, the muster made, and the rolls 
duly certified, the cards will be destroyed by the mustering 
officer. The rolls, when prepared, will be certified by the 
surgeon. 



12 

II. The militia from such States and Territories as shall 
have adopted for enlistment and reenlistment the standard of 
medical examination prescribed for the Regular Army shall be 
duly mustered into the service of the United States without 
prior physical examination, as follows : 

(a) The commanding officer, under the supervision of the 
mustering officer, will cause to be prepared the cards (Form 
No. 2, Organized Militia) necessary for the preparation of the 
muster-in roll. 

(b) The cards will be arranged, under the supervision of the 
mustering officer, in the order in which the names borne thereon 
are to appear on the muster-in roll. After the muster-in rolls 
have been completed, the muster made, and the rolls duly cer- 
tified, the cards will be destroyed by the mustering officer. 

(c) The column * Qualified for service in Volunteers, yes or 
no," on the muster-in roll, will not be filled out for States in- 
cluded in the class covered by paragraph 2 of these instructions. 

(d) As soon as practicable after the muster in is completed 
a physical examination shall be made of all officers and enlisted 
men by a medical officer detailed for the purpose. For this pur- 
pose an alphabetical list in duplicate of the officers and en- 
listed men of the command will be prepared on Form 1 (Or- 
ganized Militia or Volunteers) and furnished the examining 
surgeon by the company commander. 

(e) Upon the completion of the physical examination of the 
officers and enlisted men of the command the examining surgeon 
will write on the lists so furnished him, opposite the name of 
each officer and enlisted man borne thereon, the words " Quali- 
fied," " Disqualified," or " Not examined," as the case may be, 
certify the same to be correct over his signature, return one 
copy to the commanding officer and the other copy to the mus- 
tering officer. The copy furnished the commanding officer will 
be retained by him as a part of the permanent records of his 
command and will be used in the preparation of the muster-in 
rolls for muster into the service as Volunteers. 

25. Three copies of the muster-in roll will be made, and as 
soon as practicable after muster in the mustering officer will 
forward one copy to The Adjutant General of the Army and 
one copy to the adjutant general of the State to which the 
troops belong. The third copy will be delivered to the company 
or organization commander. 

26. The caption and column headings of the muster-in roll 
and instructions for its preparation published thereon will be 



13 

minutely observed. Names will be legibly and neatly written 
and correctly spelled. The names of officers, noncommissioned 
officers, and those in grades other than that of private will 
have precedence on the roll in the order of rank, with not less 
than one blank line separating the several grades or 'classes, 
and will be written thus: John W. Smith, or John W. C. Smith, 
Privates are to be entered alphabetically, each beginning with 
the surname, viz, Smith, John W., or Smith, John W. C. For 
all individuals the first baptismal name will invariably be 
written in full and other names, if any, represented by initials, 
the styles of expression, Smith, J. William, or Smith, J. William 
C, or Smith, J. W. Charles, being inadmissible. 

27. After the officers and men of a company who have suc- 
cessfully passed the physical examination have had their names 
properly entered on the muster-in rolls, the company will be 
formed in line, the men in the order, from right to left, in 
which their names appear on the roll, officers three paces in 
front of the center. The mustering officer, accompanied by the 
surgeon, after inspecting the captain and lieutenants, will place 
himself about 12 paces in front of the line, the captain near him 
and on his right to call the names. The senior lieutenant will 
face about and see that each man, when his name is called, 
personally answers in a tone to be heard distinctly by the 
mustering officer. At the instant of answering, the man will 
step off briskly to and in front of the mustering officer and 
pass on to join the next senior lieutenant, who, on ground 
previously selected, will re-form the company in the same 
order as before, with intervals of one pace between the grades, 
so that the number in each may be easily distinguished and 
counted. 

28. When all the men have been called, the mustering officer, 
accompanied by the captain, will verify the numbers in the 
several grades and see that, together, they correspond with 
the whole number of names on the muster-in roll and agree 
with the prescribed organization. The mustering officer, hav- 
ing satisfied himself that all the officers and men of the com- 
pany are lit for military service, will formally announce to 
them that they are accepted into the United States service. 
He will then direct them to uncover and raise their right 
hands, when, in a distinct voice and impressive manner, he 
will administer the following oath: 

"All and each of you whose names are entered on this roll, 
having been duly accepted into the United States service as 



14 

commissioned officers or enlisted men of militia this 

day , 19__, for the period of , unless sooner dis- 
charged by proper authority, do solemnly swear (or affirm) 
that you will bear true faith and allegiance to the United 
States of America; that you will serve them honestly and 
faithfully against all their enemies whomsoever; and that you 
will obey the orders of the President of the United States 
and the orders of the officers appointed over you according 
to the rules and Articles of War. So help you God." 

29. The procedure prescribed in paragraphs 27 and 28 for 
the muster in of a company will be followed as nearly as may 
be in the muster in of the field, staff, and band of any or- 
ganization, or of any troop, battery, or detachment. 

30. The mustering officer will be careful that men from one 
company or detachment are not used to swell the ranks of 
another abou. to be mustered in. To this end he will, at the 
conclusion of the muster in of each squadron, battalion, or 
regiment, cause the entire force to be paraded for inspection 
and verification, and if deception or fraud is discovered to have 
been practiced he will immediately arrest the persons impli- 
cated and make full report of the facts to The Adjutant General 
of the Army. 

81. Mustering officers will instruct the officers of militia com- 
mands mustered into service by them in the methods of official 
correspondence, the keeping of records, and the means of pro- 
curing, issuing, and accounting for military supplies, inviting 
particular attention to the provisions of Army Regulations bear- 
ing on the subject. 

32. As soon as a regiment or other separate organization has 
been mustered into the service of the United States the muster- 
ing officer or his assistant, acting with a representative of the 
governor of the State or Territory or the commanding general 
of the District of Columbia Militia, will inventory and inspect 
all property belonging to the United States taken by such troops 
into the Federal service. 

The governor or his representative at the mobilization camp 
or company rendezvous or the commanding general of the Dis- 
trict of Columbia Militia will invoice all such United States 
property to the proper officer of the regiment or separate unit 
of organization less than a regiment as follows: 

(a) All clothing, camp and garrison equipage, subsistence 
stores, and quartermaster's supplies to the quartermaster. 



15 

(b) All property belonging to the medical department to the 
senior medical officer. 

(c) All property pertaining to the Corps of Engineers, the 
Ordnance Department, and the Signal Corps to an accounting 
officer detailed by the regimental or other commander of a 
separate organization from his staff. 

Property pertaining to each department will be invoiced sepa- 
rately. The invoices and receipts will show the condition of 
the property as serviceable or unserviceable. The several 
officers hereinbefore specified will use the invoices received 
from the governor or his representative as vouchers for taking 
up such property on their returns, and they will furnish the 
usual receipts for the property received. 

No clothing will be charged to enlisted men except that which 
may subsequently be supplied directly from time to time by 
the United States after muster in. 

33. Any State or Territorial property of a standard pattern 
and quality needed for the equipment of the troops should be 
brought into the service of the United States as here provided 
for United States property. 

34. No money value will be placed upon property taken into 
the Federal service under the provisions of the preceding two 
paragraphs, as a subsequent reimbursement to the State by 
property in kind (not money) is contemplated. 

The expressions of condition to be made in effecting the trans- 
fer of property as provided in paragraphs 32 and 33 will be de- 
termined by the mustering officer, who, after careful inspection, 
will certify on each of the invoices and receipts, before they 
can become proper vouchers, that in his opinion the condition 
stated is just and equitable to the United States and to the 
State. This certificate should also be signed by the representa- 
tive of the governor. Where questions arise as to the service- 
ability of property, they will be submitted to the senior muster- 
ing officer, whose decision will be final. 

35. The horses of a mounted organization of militia, if owned 
by the State and meeting the requirements of the mounted serv- 
ice, may be transferred by the State to the United States as 
hereinbefore provided for other State property upon appraisal 
of the mustering officer, the valuation to be stated in the in- 
voices and receipts. If such horses are owned by an organiza- 
tion mustered into the service of the United States, they may be 
purchased by the Quartermaster Corps for the organization; 



16 

otherwise, horses will be supplied by the Quartermaster Corps 
in the same manner as for troops of the permanent establish- 
ment. The use of private horses by enlisted men in the service 
is unauthorized by law. 

36. Enlistment and reenlistment in organizations of the Or- 
ganized Militia in the Federal service will be made in the man- 
ner provided for enlistment and reenlistment in the Regular 
Army, except that the term of enlistment shall be that pre- 
scribed by the laws of the State from which the organization 
was received. Enlistments and reenlistments will be made on 
Form No. 6 (Organized Militia) and after physical examination 
in accordance with the requirements for enlistment or reenlist- 
ment in the Regular Army. 

37. After a regiment or other organization of militia has 
been mustered into the United States service, vacancies that 
exist or occur in its authorized commissioned strength will 
be filled by the muster in of officers who produce commissions 
or letters of appointment from the authorized appointing 
power of the State, Territory, or District of Columbia to 
which the organization pertains to fill such existing vacancies. 

When the commission or letter of appointment is presented, 
the mustering officer will satisfy himself that a vacancy ex- 
ists, in which case only can he make the muster in, and the 
muster-in roll must show, over the certificate of the mustering 
officer, that the vacancy existed, whether or not it was origi- 
nal, and if not original, how it occurred. Such musters in, 
when made before the command leaves the mustering district 
or State in which it was organized, will be made by a muster- 
ing officer of that district or State. After the command has 
left such district or State they will be made only by the 
proper mustering officer of the tactical unit or geographical 
department in which the command may be serving, unless the 
War Department in exceptional cases specially directs other- 
wise. 

38. If an officer of militia, after muster into the United 
States service as such, receives and is duly mustered in under 
a commission or appointment to a higher grade in that service, 
such muster in operates to vacate his prior commission, and thus 
renders a formal muster out of the old grade unnecessary. 

39. Enlisted men of militia already mustered into the United 
States service who receive commissions or appointments therein 
will not be mustered in as commissioned officers thereof until 



17 

they shall have been discharged from the United States service 
as enlisted men by competent authority. 

40. When an officer or enlisted man of militia already mus- 
tered into the United States service receives a commission as 
of a higher grade and is not mustered in so as to appear on 
the next periodical muster roll as of the grade to which he 
has been newly commissioned or appointed, he will be mus- 
tered on such roll as of his actual grade at the time of muster, 
with a remark to the following effect : 

"Received commission (or appointment) as in the 

Regiment of Militia on the day of , 

19_«; awaiting muster in since that date because (give rea- 
son why not mustered in)." This remark will be continued 
on the current muster rolls until the officer or enlisted man 
has been mustered into service as of the higher grade to which 
he has been commissioned. 

41. No muster in, whether of an organization or individual 
officer or enlisted man of any grade, shall be made on one date 
to date from an earlier date. Nunc pro tunc musters in are 
illegal and ineffective in so far as they attempt to place an 
organization or individual in the United States service on or 
from a date prior to that on which the muster in is actually 
made. 

42. Officers or enlisted men of different regiments of militia 
will not be mustered into the United States service on the 
same roll. 

43. Corrections or alterations on muster-in rolls after muster 
in and before the rolls have been forwarded will not be made 
except with the approval of the mustering-in officer ; nor will 
the copy retained with the records of an organization, the 
original having been transmitted to The Adjutant General of 
the Army, be changed in any particular without authority 
from the War Department. 

III. 

THE MUSTER OF MILITIA OUT OF THE SERVICE OF 
THE UNITED STATES. 

44. All organizations of militia called and accepted into the 
United States service shall be mustered out of the same when 
the purposes for which they were called shall have been accom- 
plished or their services are no longer required. The muster 



18 

out of organizations will take place at such posts or rendezvous 
as may be selected by the Secretary of War. (See par. 5.) 

45. Commanding officers in the field or elsewhere, upon the 
receipt of orders directing an organization of militia to pro- 
ceed to a rendezvous for muster out, will take immediate 
measures to cause the return to it of all absentees, except such 
as may be absolutely unable to join on account of sickness or 
capture by the enemy, those held to await trial by general or 
special court-martial, those undergoing sentences of confinement 
imposed by general courts-martial, and those who may be re- 
tained in service under special authority of the Secretary of 
War. (See pars. 63 and 66.) 

46. When an organization of militia is ordered to 'be dis- 
charged from the United States service, the assistant muster- 
ing officer on duty with the command to which it belongs will 
at once carefully inspect its records with reference to their 
being fully completed and finally closed, causing errors to be 
corrected and omissions supplied; and he will impress upon 
officers accountable for public funds or property of any kind 
the importance of being prepared to close their returns of the 
same without delay. He will also, by personal inspection, see 
that correct descriptive lists and accounts of pay and clothing 
are furnished to the officers, under whose immediate command 
the men may be, for all enlisted men, both present and absent, 
who, by reason of sickness, are unable to join and travel with 
the command to the muster-out rendezvous. He will also require 
the medical officers of such organization to render at once to 
the Surgeon General of the Army such monthly reports of sick 
and wounded as they may have failed for any cause to forward 
at the time such reports were due. He will also require to be 
made a complete list of all absentees (officers and men who do 
not, for any reason, proceed with the organization to the ren- 
dezvous for discharge), with their addresses, so far as known, 
together with a statement of the cause and period of absence 
and authority therefor, the list to be delivered to the mustering 
officer at the rendezvous where the organization is to be mus- 
tered out of service. 

47. When a regiment or other organization of militia is 
designated for muster out at an appointed rendezvous, the 
commanding officer of such regiment or other organization, to 
facilitate its prompt discharge upon arrival at the rendezvous, 
will at once select an officer specially qualified, who, under 



19 

instructions of the proper assistant mustering officer (par. 11) 
and the supervision of such commanding officer, will direct the 
collection and arrangement of data for a rough copy of each 
muster-out roll. Before departure of the organization for, 
and if necessary while it is en route to, the muster-out rendez- 
vous these rough copies will be made as nearly complete as 
possible, particular reference being had to the full and accu- 
rate information necessary in the preparation of the muster- 
out rolls. Upon arrival at the rendezvous the organization 
will be reported to and taken control of by the chief or senior 
mustering officer on duty at the rendezvous, and when the 
date for discharge has been fixed the fair and final copies of 
the muster-out rolls will be made without delay under direc- 
tion of the mustering officer ordered to muster the organiza- 
tion out of service. 

48. Officers or enlisted men of different regiments will not 
be mustered out on the same roll. 

49. Five copies of the muster-out roll will be made. One 
copy will be forwarded by the mustering officer without un- 
necessary delay to The Adjutant General of the Army, and 
one copy will be filed with the records of the organization, 
to be forwarded later with such records to The Adjutant Gen- 
eral of the Army under the provisions of paragraph 61 of these 
regulations. Two copies will be prepared for the use of the 
paymaster by whom the final payment will be made. The fifth 
copy will be forwarded by the mustering officer to the adjutant 
general of the State from which the troops came. 

50. When the muster-out rolls have been completed, they 
will be examined carefully, under the supervision of the mus- 
tering officer, by a board of officers to be appointed by the 
commanding officer. The board will be furnished with the 
retained copy of the muster-in roll and with the subsequent 
muster rolls, together with such descriptive lists and other 
records as are essential to verify by comparison and insure 
the correctness in all respects of the muster-out rolls. 

51. To facilitate the settlement of claims for pensions that 
may be made on account of disabilities incurred in the mili- 
tary service and to establish the rights of persons who may 
be entitled to the benefits of the pension laws, as well as to 
protect the interests of the United States, a thorough physical 
examination will be made of all officers and enlisted men of 
militia immediately prior to their discharge from or muster 



20 

out of the United States service. The report of the exami- 
nation in each individual case will be recorded on the pre- 
scribed blank form. The reports of such physical examination 
will be forwarded to The Adjutant General of the Army with 
the muster-out rolls on which the names of the individuals 
appear. In the cases of absentees mustered out with their 
organizations (see par. 65), the physical examination herein 
prescribed will be had when practicable, but such absentees 
shall not be held in service beyond the date fixed for their 
muster out solely for the purpose of such physical examina- 
tion. If to avoid so holding them, or for other sufficient reasons, 
the physical examination is omitted, a notation to that effect 
will be made on the muster-out rolls. 

52. Chief mustering officers will make timely application to 
The Adjutant General of the Army for the detail of medical 
officers of the Regular Army or of the militia or volunteer 
staff to make the physical examinations herein prescribed. 

53. Any officer or enlisted man, examined as before pre- 
scribed, who claims to have a disability of which the medical 
Officer can find no evidence, or claims disability incurred in 
line of duty whereas the medical officer is of the opinion that 
the disability was not so incurred, shall have his claim further 
inquired into by a board composed, if practicable, of two 
medical officers other than the officer who made the original 
examination (one such medical officer to act when necessary), 
to be convened by the mustering officer, the finding of the 
board to be indorsed on the examination paper; and when 
medical officers are not available to compose the board, the 
mustering officer will himself make the required investigation 
and note upon the examination paper his concurrence in, or 
in what respect he disagrees with, the finding of the examin- 
ing surgeon. Any officer or enlisted man may waive the right 
to such reexamination, in which case he shall certify upon 
the examination paper that he waives such right and is en- 
tirely satisfied with and acquiesces in the finding of the 
examining surgeon. 

54. Officers of militia in the actual service of the United 
States who at any time during the period of such service have 
been accountable for United States funds or property of any 
description must settle their accountability and obtain certifi- 
cates of nonindebtedness before they can receive final pay- 
ment. Mustering officers will therefore forward at once to the 



21 

Quartermaster General of the Army and to the Chief of the Divi- 
sion of Bookkeeping and Warrants, Treasury Department, com- 
plete lists of all the officers of militia organizations to be 
mustered out, noting on the list for the Treasury Department 
what officers have had money accountability. They will also 
forward to the Quartermaster General, Surgeon General, Chief 
of Engineers, Chief of Ordnance, and Chief Signal Officer, re- 
spectively, lists of those officers who are or at any time have 
been accountable for public funds or property to any of those 
bureaus of the War Department. The chiefs of those bureaus 
will cause immediate examination of returns to be made and 
will communicate the result thereof to the Quartermaster Gen- 
eral of the Army. 

55. An officer of militia who has not at any time been ac- 
countable for United "States funds or property will be required 
to furnish the mustering officer with his affidavit to that effect, 
certified to by his commanding officer, which, with the no- 
stoppage certificate of the Quartermaster General of the Army 
and clearance certificate from the Chief of the Division of Book- 
keeping and Warrants, Treasury Department, shall be accepted 
as sufficient evidence to warrant his final payment on discharge 
from the United States service. 

56. An officer of militia with accountability to certain bu- 
reaus of the War Department but not to others must obtain 
certificates of nonindebtedness to the United States from the 
bureaus to which accountable, which, with his affidavit cover- 
ing nonaccountability to the others and the no-stoppage and 
clearance certificates described in the preceding paragraph, 
will entitle him to final payment on discharge from the United 
States service. 

57. Officers of the militia will not be retained in service 
beyond the date of the muster out of their organizations for 
the purpose of completing their accounts and returns, nor to 
await settlement of their accounts, but they may be paid upon 
discharge from the United States service the travel allowances 
due them. 

58. As soon as a regiment or other separate organization 
reaches its muster-out rendezvous the mustering officer or his 
assistant, acting with a representative of the governor of the 
State or Territory or the commanding general of the District 
of Columbia Militia, will inventory and inspect all property be- 
longing to the United States and to be taken by such troops 



22 

into the State service. The accountable United States officer 
will invoice all such property to the governor of the State to 
which the Organized Militia belongs, or to the commanding 
general of the District of Columbia Militia, as the case may be. 
Property pertaining to each department will be invoiced sepa- 
rately. The invoices and receipts will show the condition of the 
property as serviceable or unserviceable. No unserviceable 
property will be taken into the State service; such property 
will be acted upon by inspectors. For this purpose mustering 
officers are authorized to act as inspectors of property sub- 
mitted to them for condemnation for which organizations of 
militia ordered to be mustered out of the service are account- 
able, and they are empowered to order, " by order of the Secre- 
tary of War," final disposition to be made of the property con- 
demned by them, subject to the limitation imposed by the Army 
Regulations on commanding officers. 

59. Officers of the staff departments detailed for duty at the 
rendezvous as provided in paragraph 4 will receive, receipt for, 
and dispose of the United States property in possession of or- 
ganizations of militia leaving the service and not invoiced to 
the governor of the State or the commanding general, District 
of Columbia Militia, as may be directed by the chiefs of their 
respective departments. Similarly, they will receipt and ac- 
count for all United States funds as may be directed by the 
chiefs of the respectiye departments. They will supervise, as 
far as practicable, the preparation of final returns for prop- 
erty and funds in order to facilitate closing, with the least pos- 
sible delay, the accountability of the militia officers concerned. 
The procedure herein contemplated is a reimbursement in kind 
to the State, as near as may be, for the property taken into the 
service of the United States by the organization now being 
mustered out. 

60. The several staff departments of the Army will continue 
to furnish militia troops being mustered out with needful sup- 
plies until the date of discharge and final payment. 

61. All regimental and company records and papers, such as 
letters and telegrams received, files of letters received and sent, 
files of general and special orders and circulars, guard reports, 
morning reports, descriptive lists, military records and state- 
ments of accounts, sick reports, retained copies of rolls and 
returns, and regimental and company books and files of every 
description relating to the military affairs of any organization 



23 

of militia or of individuals belonging to it, or to the disabilities 
and medical or surgical treatment of officers and enlisted men 
thereof, during and covering the period beginning with the 
muster into and ending with the muster out of the United States 
service of such militia organization, are the property of the 
United States and will be required by the War Department for 
use in the settlement of claims against the Government and for 
other purposes. No military or medical record or document 
whatever, of the character referred to herein, is the property 
of the militia organization or the personal property of any indi- 
vidual. 

The officer who musters out such organization will see that 
all of its records and papers described in this paragraph are 
securely packed, boxed, and labeled, and sent by express to 
The Adjutant General of the Army as soon as possible after 
the muster out of the organization. 

62. All officers of militia while awaiting with their commands 
discharge and payment at muster-out rendezvous will be held 
to a strict accountability for the discipline of their commands 
and the preservation of public property. Mustering officers are 
required to prefer charges against those militia officers who at 
such rendezvous fail to take adequate measures to protect the 
United States against loss of property or neglect to hold their 
commands under proper discipline. 

63. The muster out of the service of the United States of a 
regiment or other independent organization of militia discharges 
from the service of the United States, on the date of such muster 
out, all officers and enlisted men who on said date belong to such 
regiment or organization, including all absentees except pris- 
oners of war, deserters, those held to await trial by court- 
martial, those held for transfer to and service in other organiza- 
tions of militia in the United States service to complete unex- 
pired terms or to make good time lost by desertion, and those 
who may be retained temporarily in the service under special 
authority of the Secretary of War. 

64. No muster out or discharge, whether of an organization 
or individual officer or enlisted man of any grade, shall be 
made on one date to date from an earlier date. Nunc pro tunc 
musters out and discharges are illegal and ineffective in so far 
as they purport to separate an organization or individual from 
the United States service on or from a date prior to that on 
which the muster out or discharge is actually made. 



24 

65. The absentees from an organization of militia who are 
required, to be mustered out with it include : 

First. — All absent enlisted men, not exempted from muster 
out with their organization under the provisions of paragraph 
63, who are unable to join it for muster out and who are 
under the control of post commanders, surgeons, or other 
officers having possession of their descriptive lists. 

With respect to this class of absentees the following instruc- 
tions will govern : 

As soon as the date for the muster out of the organization 
has been determined the proper mustering officer will notify 
the commanding officers of these absentees of the time when 
such muster out is to take place. Immediately upon receipt 
of such notice, the commanding officers named will notify the 
absentees of the time that such muster out is to take place 
and will forward the descriptive lists in their possession 
or under their control to the mustering officer by whom the 
muster out is to be made, accompanied with reports of the 
prescribed physical examination in all cases in which it is 
practicable to make such examination. (See par. 51.) The 
discharge certificates and final statements of these absentees, 
the discharges being of the date of the muster out of the 
organization, will be prepared under the direction of the 
mustering-out officer, who will forward them without unneces- 
sary delay, with the descriptive lists and a statement in each 
case of the last known address of the soldier, to The Adjutant 
General of the Army, noting on the organization muster-out 
roll the fact that the discharge certificates and final state- 
ments have been so forwarded. The Adjutant General of the 
Army, upon receipt of the discharges and final statements, will 
take measures for the proper disposition of them. 

Second. — All absent enlisted men, not exempted from muster 
out with their organizations and not under the control of 
officers having their descriptive lists; also all absent officers 
who are similarly not exempted from muster out with their 
organizations. 

The absent officers and enlisted men described under this 
head will be notified individually by the mustering-out officer, 
at the earliest possible date, of the date on which they will 
be mustered out with their organizations, and in the cases of 
those who do not join for muster out the dates of such notifi- 
cations will be recorded on the muster-out rolls. Discharge 



25 

certificates for these absentees, the discharges all being of the 
date of the muster out of the organization, will be prepared, 
and the discharge certificates of those of them who are not 
present on the date of muster out, with final statements for 
the enlisted men, will be forwarded by the mustering-out 
officer with the least possible delay to The Adjutant General 
of the Army. Those whose discharges and final statements 
have been thus forwarded will be notified to apply to The 
Adjutant General of the Army for their discharge papers and 
instructions as to the mode of procuring the pay due them. 

66. An enlisted man of militia who, at the time of the muster 
out of his organization, is in confinement under sentence of a 
general or special court-martial which does not provide for dis- 
honorable discharge will be discharged honorably or without 
honor on the date of such muster out, but will be held to serve 
out his confinement as required by the Army Regulations. The 
mustering-out officer will send the discharge certificate, and 
also final statements if there be anything due the soldier, to 
the proper commanding officer for delivery to the man upon 
his release from confinement. When such enlisted man is, at 
the time of the muster out of his organization, serving a 
sentence of confinement adjudged by an inferior court-martial, 
he will be mustered out regularly with his organization, but 
will not be held after the date of the muster out to serve the 
unexecuted confinement. If the man is not present with his 
organization on the date of its muster out, the mustering-out 
officer will prepare and forward his discharge certificate and 
final statements as required by paragraph 65 of these regu- 
lations. 

67. Deserters from militia organizations who desert after 
muster or acceptance into the United States service are sub- 
ject to arrest and to trial by general court-martial at any time 
prior to the muster out of the entire militia force of which 
those organizations form or formed a part ; but after the whole 
of that force has been mustered out of the United States serv- 
ice, the deserters herein described who are at large will not 
be taken into custody or under military control, either by 
acceptance of their surrender or otherwise, and no certificates 
of discharge of any kind will be issued to them. 

When it is found impracticable to bring to trial deserters 
from militia organizations that are being prepared for muster 
out, such deserters will not be taken into custody or under 



26 

military control either by acceptance of their surrender or 
otherwise; no change on the muster roll or other record will 
be made with regard to them, and no certificates of discharge 
of any kind will be issued to them. Those who may claim 
that the charges of desertion standing against them are er- 
roneous or unfounded will be advised to submit to The Adju- 
tant General of the Army written statements, under oath, of 
the facts in their respective cases, together with such corrobo- 
rative testimony, also under oath, as they may be able to 
obtain. Mustering officers having cognizance of such cases 
will, whenever they have reason to believe that the charge of 
desertion has been erroneously or improperly made in any of 
such cases, make special reports thereon to The Adjutant 
General of the Army. 

It is to be understood that the deserters herein referred to 
shall be brought to trial for their desertions whenever it is 
practicable to do so, and that such trials shall be deemed im- 
practicable only when for good and sufficient reasons they 
can not be had without delaying the muster out of the organi- 
zations to which such deserters belong or of other organiza- 
tions of the militia force in the United States service. 

This regulation shall not be construed as affecting the status 
of general prisoners of the militia under sentence of general 
courts-martial for desertion or other offenses. Such general 
prisoners remain liable to the full execution of their sentences 
notwithstanding the muster out of the United States service of 
the militia force to which they belonged. 

68. Discharge certificates will be prepared, under direction 
of the mustering officer by whom an organization of militia 
is mustered out of service, for every officer and enlisted man 
thereof both present and absent except for those who are 
exempt from muster out with the organization under the pro- 
visions of paragraph 63 of these regulations. 

69. When a regiment or other organization of militia is 
ordered mustered out of service the Quartermaster General of 
the Army, having been duly notified of the place of discharge, 
will provide for its final payment. The final payment will be 
made to include the date of muster out and as far as prac- 
ticable will be made on that date. The officer who is to make 
it will confer with the mustering officer as to the time neces- 
sary to prepare the rolls. Mustering officers are enjoined to 
exercise great care in fixing the dates for the muster out of 
organizations in order that the work to be done may be accom- 



m 

plished on the dates determined without embarrassing delays, 
which may be avoided by systematic and well-considered ar- 
rangements made in advance. 

70. Paymasters engaged in paying mustered-out organiza- 
tions of militia will endeavor to make such payments as nearly 
complete as possible by settling as far as practicable all arrears 
of whatever nature due the individual or the United States and 
by paying everyone appearing on the rolls as clearly entitled to 
pay. But at the same time they will exercise the greatest care 
to avoid overpayments, as such errors are difficult of correction 
and losses resulting therefrom may fall upon the officers who 
make the overpayments. They will hold the rolls open as long 
as may be practicable in order that absentees who are entitled 
to be paid thereon may be paid, either in person or by attorney, 
before the rolls are finally closed. 

71. The discharge certificates of a regiment or lesser inde- 
pendent organization of militia mustered out of the United 
States service will be signed by the commanding officer of such 
regiment or organization for all officers thereof except himself; 
by the adjutant for the noncommissioned staff and band; by 
company commanders for the enlisted men of their companies; 
and by the chief mustering officer for the commanding officer. 
All the discharge certificates will be countersigned by the mus- 
tering officer discharging the regiment or organization. 

72. On the day appointed for the muster out of an organiza- 
tion of militia, it will be paraded and the mustering officer will 
cause the names of all officers and enlisted men belonging 
thereto to be called, requiring those present to answer and 
step off to the front or a flank, re-forming the organization in 
its original order. The organization will then be marched to 
the pay table where its commander, provided with a copy of 
the muster-out pay roll, will deliver to each individual his 
proper discharge certificate as he presents himself for final 
payment, the paying officer having previously indorsed thereon 
the fact of such payment as required by the Army Regulations. 

73. When organizations of militia are mustered out of the 
United States service final statements will not be prepared for 
the enlisted men who receive final payment on muster-out pay 
rolls of the organizations. These pay rolls take the place of 
final statements in the cases of men so paid. For the cases 
of discharged absentees, in which final statements are required, 
see paragraphs 65 and 66. 



28 

74. Corrections or alterations will not be made on muster- 
out rolls after muster out and before the rolls have been for- 
warded except with the approval of the mustering-out officer; 
nor will the copies retained with the records of an organiza- 
tion, the originals having been transmitted to The Adjutant 
General of the Army, be changed in any particular without 
authority from the War Department. 

75. The discharge of a commissioned officer of militia, while 
in the military service of the United States, in orders issued 
by competent authority is in itself a complete muster out of 
and discharge from that service. Muster-out rolls are not to be 
furnished nor will discharge certificates be issued in such cases. 

o 



THIS BOOK IS DUE ON THE LAST DATE 
STAMPED BELOW 



,....:■ 




AN INITIAL FINE OF 25 CENTS 

WILLIE ASSESSED FOR FAILURE TO RETURN 
THIS BOOK ON THE DATE DUE. THE PENALTY 
WILL INCREASE TO SO CENTS ON THE FOURTH 
DAY AND TO $1.00 ON THE SEVENTH DAY 
OVERDUE. 






S£? 26 1935 



mi 



JUNll 1965 



R£CO *-° 



m v 



65-5ii 



LD 21-100m-7,'33 



Gaylord Bros. 
Makers 



Syracuse 



N.Y. 



PAT. JAN. 21, 1908 



YB 4768? 




